


A Visit Without Nectar

by MeltyRum



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Hades (Video Game 2018), Wonder Girl (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27392527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyRum/pseuds/MeltyRum
Summary: Zagreus and Cassandra Sandsmark are cousins; join me in pretending it makes sense.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10
Collections: Generic_Roleplay_Cyberpunk





	A Visit Without Nectar

Even Zagreus’s feet had grown weary. An urban center of any reasonable scale could not be suitably explored on foot, and that perhaps went triple for a place like San Angeles. The place was dense and varied enough that no two blocks looked the same, and yet… when you had spent the better part of a month wandering its streets and corridors (an odd choice of vocabulary for the artery of a city—but in certain areas, that was really the only appropriate word for it), it became difficult to notice the place’s architecture and people when it all started to blend together into a murky sea of gray and blue and black, the neon and the lights which punctuated it becoming more of a nuisance than anything, even appearing particularly garish when cast against the many pockets of grungy poverty on offer.

Every street he peered down seemed to contain _everything_ save for the subject of his search.

The wonder had worn off; if the scenery before him didn’t have Cassie Sandsmark in it, then it didn’t have any distinguishing features at all.

He would have made a very poor private investigator, he realized. As much as the idea of legwork had originally tickled him, even he—with his numerous contacts and resources—could not locate a single teenage girl in San Angeles.

It had not taken long for Zagreus to give up and try contacting Felix once again, sending along a list of questions and messages for the Batman in case his colleague was truly able to get in touch with the man. He had little doubt that the Darius boy _could_ reach out to Batman, but whether he would in fact be willing—or, indeed, whether the vigilante _himself_ would be willing—was another matter entirely.

Since it had been days since he messaged Felix, and since there had been no response of any kind in the interim, it seemed as though Zagreus would not be able to expect much.

At this rate, Than would probably end up coming stateside as well; much as he _did_ wish to see his life partner again, Zagreus essentially considered this the worst-case scenario: if Thanatos lost his patience and flew into San Angeles to offer help (or, more likely, to chastise him), it would probably all feel less like receiving aid from a partner than it would oversight from an exasperated parent.

“A little more time, Than, if you please,” Zagreus murmured quietly to himself. He was not flailing _completely_ in the dark: he had one last lifeline to tug on, although he was doubtful it would lead him to little miss Sandsmark.

He had already memorized the address, and so that’s where he marched. The location in question had been delivered _anonymously_ to his private mail address—one that had absolutely nothing to do with GigaDisco or other business. It was a… _family_ address, essentially, and that was part of what made him so suspicious of this “lifeline”. Receiving cryptic messages from unknown senders was a new one on him, even with multiple centuries beneath his belt (spam mail notwithstanding). At any rate, Zagreus was fresh out of leads and he knew the address was in a public space (as was just about any space in San Angeles), so he couldn’t find a reason not to see what his mystery contact wished him to see.

Zagreus looked around once he had turned the appropriate corner and caught sight of the shop—“Cafe Streem”—and decided to withhold all judgment of the storefront, although the hologram pixel-art of Tomoyo Daidouji’s smiling face featured just enough artistic license for him to question whether this was an authentic, Daidouji-affiliated business.

Was that really the place? The building number was correct, though—as was the street.

He searched up and down for anyone who might even _slightly_ appear as though they served Lord Uncle Zeus, but… it wasn’t as though he would know by looking. There was no shortage of street toughs on any shopping street worth visiting, particularly since it was valuable merchandise which typically made a shopping street worth visiting—and, therefore, protecting—in the first place. Any given broad-shouldered figure on the street could be hunter, corpse, paramilitary, police, friend, foe, whatever.

Zagreus could only hope that his ominous contact awaited within, and with that in mind stabilized himself with a deep breath before crossing toward the door… which slid open just as his foot hit the curb, causing the sound of peppy music joined to Tomoyo’s familiar voice to leak onto the streets, trailing the raven-haired young woman who had just left.

The two of them nearly collided, due to her attention being monopolized by the PAD in her hands, but Zagreus gracefully stepped out of her way just in time.

“Oh—sorry,” she said, looking up at him through her spectacles. The look on her face started apologetic and polite enough, but she quickly turned away once she regarded his face.

“No, pardon _me_ ,” he answered promptly, watching her receding back. “Think… nothing of it,” he murmured to himself, wondering what it was that troubled him about this exchange as he stepped into the cafe.

Had they met before? Hard to say. With a life as long as his, one met plenty of people—too many for one man’s faculties to keep track of. It was arguably what lead to so much flippant behavior in his family.

Even so, an unsettling feeling began to settle in behind his rib cage, because he could not shake the mysterious, disturbing feeling that her face was the very same one he had gotten into the habit of checking every morning—looking at old newspaper articles, streams, adverts, anything that might refresh his memory of the countenance of Cassandra Sandsmark. Perhaps his extended search simply meant he was starting to see her face wherever he looked, in some manner of sick wish fulfillment, or a cruel and ironic flight of fate. This wouldn’t have been the first time.

But… no, he thought, stopping in the doorway. She had recognized him—and not favorably. If she had not immediately resumed her exeunt, he’s certain her eyes would have widened with disbelief or surprise or even fear. He could feel it.

Zagreus stepped back into the street. If he was wrong… he could always visit Cafe Streem later. While the crowd of pedestrians slowed him just slightly, he was able to count himself lucky: she was still on the street.

“Excuse me! Miss!” he shouted after her, immediately regretting calling such attention to himself even as he proceeded to slink past his fellow sidewalk enthusiasts. Meanwhile, his target gave no indication that she had even heard him, although a few nearer heads had turned, some more interested than others. He silently cursed himself; even if that _was_ somehow Cassandra, there was no telling whose eyes might be drawn by the sight of a suspicious man chasing down a teenager…

Wait. Was it just his imagination, or was her pace picking up…?

As if to satisfy his curiosity, the girl turned onto a narrow street, casting a brief and furtive glance in his direction as she did so, where her gaze met his—certainly no accident—as she immediately turned away and disappeared around the corner.

“Wait!” he called again, despite himself. He would be regretful about his body getting ahead of his brain so often, if it wasn’t also what propelled him to give immediate chase. She was nowhere to be seen when he reached the corner, but he had his pick of alleyways to choose from; following his gut and ducking into the first, he followed its maze-like twists as he ran, checking every possible exit as he went. “Just hold on a moment! I won’t harm you!” he promised, loudly, although it sounded quite a lot like a threat even to _his_ ears.

There was no verbal response, but the sound of a shoe scuffing asphalt led him down another turn, and his heart rose when he finally saw her. At this rate, there was no way to escape. Cassandra may have been on the run, but… well… the “God of Blood” had gotten very used to being quick on his feet, for better or worse.

To his relief, she did not immediately sprint away again, perhaps having grown tired of leading him around. “Who are you?” she asked, although the recognition on her face was obvious. Apparently she realized as much, since she made an ill-advised addition: “I mean, who sent you?”

His confidence rose; her asking a question like that likely meant he was on the right track. Who would send him, except Zeus? Luckily for the both of them, that wasn’t the case.

Zagreus approached slowly, raising his hands disarmingly as possible. “It’s alright. Just want to talk, if you don’t mind.”

She frowned uncertainly, but did not point out that she clearly  _did_ mind. “Then stop,” she commanded.

He obeyed, staying still and keeping his hands raised. “Fair enough. Might as well talk from here… for now. I think you  _know_ who I am, but… I’m Zagreus. Zagreus Sandsmark. More importantly, I think I know who  _you_ are.”

This admission was apparently a mistake, as the fugitive’s eyes widened, head turning this way and that as if to look for another escape. “Just leave me alone, Zagreus. My name’s Donna. Whoever you think I am, you’re wrong.”

“I don’t believe that,” Zagreus countered, although he made a note to ask about this curious moniker. “Look, I understand why you’re being so cagey—I would be, too, were I in your circumstances, but I promise that I’m only here to—oh, hell, wait!” he shouted, watching helplessly as—in an impressive display of physical celerity—she ran up one wall of the alleyway a surprising distance—probably the height of two men—before kicking off of the wall and leaping across the alleyway, crash landing somewhat painfully against an AC unit situated just beneath the lip of the building’s roof… which itself rested at a height of three stories tall.

He stared, aghast. “How—?”

The sudden realization felt like a migraine. How could he have forgotten her arsenal of augmentations?

When he looked back up, the runaway had hauled herself to the ledge of the roof, disappearing in the next instant without looking back down.

Not looking forward to the rooftop chase, Zagreus nevertheless bounded over to the weathered old fire escape, boosting himself up to its bottom rung off of a trash bin and climbing his way up before starting his serpentine climb up the steps. His breathing and his heartbeat quickly rose to an excited pace, but not labored; he was grateful for having kept up with his GigaDisco training in Greece, otherwise he was certain this chase would have already been finished. After all, he barely stood a chance against Cassandra in the first place, given that Zagreus was rather lacking augmentations, himself.

As Zagreus crested the roof of the building, he was surprised to see that she had not yet made the leap, and instead was reluctantly looking down into an opposite alleyway, apparently considering her options. He wouldn’t question it; even an entire bevy of biomodifications and cybernetic enhancements likely wouldn’t be enough to completely quell the natural fear of falling—particularly if Cassie only made  infrequent use of those augmentations.

Zagreus suppressed the urge to chuckle; he could relate, in a way. Just because he had died so many times already didn’t mean he was  _eager_ to experience the next one. And since he’d also really rather not suffer an unceremonious fall to his death, he was pleased that she hadn’t yet begun leaping across rooftops.

Hopefully he could stop her before she  _started_ , then.

“Alright,” he started, head racing for the right words that would convince her to stay put, his voice elevated just so she would be able to hear him from across the roof. “After that little trick, I think we both know I wouldn’t be able to catch up with you if you  _really_ made a run for it. And if it makes you feel better, I won’t come any closer until you ask for it… although considering your circumstances, I would bet that any conversation we have is better off being a quiet one, don’t you think?”

Zagreus’s heart sank as she looked back to the adjacent rooftop… but he breathed a sigh of relief when her gaze returned to his. This would be bad for his heart, he thought.

For a moment that felt like ages, Cassandra said absolutely nothing, looking uncertainly from him, to the unnaturally prefab rooftop, to the (mostly) clear skies above them. While he didn’t know his cousin well enough to guess at what she might be thinking, he decided to take encouragement from the fact that she was apparently  _considering_ staying in place at all. He wracked his brain for anything else he might be able to use to convince her.

“I can understand why you might not have guessed as much, but I left San Angeles for family reasons too, you know,” he said sympathetically, and lowered his voice as much as felt reasonable. “Considering your— _our_ —family’s reputation, I took a bit of an interest in your disappearance.”

When her eyes met his again, he could tell she  _wanted_ to believe him, but it became clear that wanting wasn’t enough.

“How did you find me?” she demanded, although the weariness in her voice blunted any harshness she might have tried to project.

“Would you believe me if I said it was coincidence?” he asked, smiling. “No? Well… I suppose I wouldn’t, either. Truth is, I got a message—an anonymous one—to visit that very cafe you were in, at this time. Take it that wasn’t you who sent it.”

Cassie looked even more fretful at this news, and Zagreus couldn’t blame her, considering it meant  _someone_ knew where she was— _who_ she was. Setting aside the question of who could have sent something like that… why would they want Zagreus to know?

He took another look around the both of them, just to make sure that they were truly alone—at least as far as he could tell.

“Can we talk?” he asked finally. “I know the subjects will be sensitive just by virtue of who you are, but… I think I’ve got just the thing.” Slowly, he reached one hand up to his neck. They were both bona fide chipped risties, after all, and he wasn’t  _completely_ without augmentations. He flipped open a firm, yet flexible (flexifirm?), flesh-like covering on the back of his neck, drawing from it a narrow length of cord, sure that it would no doubt match her own data port, as well.

Zagreus lifted it toward her in offering, just to make sure she understood what he intended. “We would have to get closer, though. Is… that alright?”

Cassie eyed him with some suspicion, but he could sense resignation setting in as she stepped slowly closer to him. “Alright. Just not  _too_ close.”

Zagreus suppressed a smile, not wanting to appear _too_ victorious. He relaxed immediately at the sound of her approval, deciding to take her movement as a sign that he could approach in turn. He pulled the cord of the data link as far as it would go—five or so feet—in an attempted gesture of good faith. She likely didn’t see the cord as much of a threat; it would take someone _truly_ crafty to cause any serious damage with this sort of data link, so all she really had to fear from him was his physical prowess… and considering her enhancements likely made her more than a match for him, Zagreus knew he had no reason to start getting too comfortable, lest she try once again to escape.

Hopefully she understood that too, then.

Once she accepted the data cable, she took a step back in order to draw it to near its maximum length, apparently not having abandoned caution just yet. She looked back up to meet his eyes once it was plugged in, no longer moving her lips as she waited for him to “speak”.

『 Link working, then? 』

『 Yeah. Been a while since I’ve done this. Can you hear me? 』

『Loud and clear, Cassandra,』 he said, although words like _hearing_ and _said_ were no longer quite right. He smiled, though, rather pleased to be able to finally speak her name to her, albeit sub-vocally. 『May I ask what you’ve done with your hair?』

『 New aug. I could always change it back to blonde. 』

『 Better not. I doubt anyone’s watching, but… seems you can never really know. 』  Zagreus took another look around for emphasis. They were on the middle of a rooftop, after all: even if they didn’t  _see_ anyone, the city housed plenty of windows by which they might be seen.

It could have been a trick of his eyes, but she almost appeared heartened by this opening rapport.  『 Right. So, this message you got… you have no idea who sent it? 』

『 Oh, no—I have an  _idea_ , yes. 』 And perhaps they could reach the conclusion together.  『 What about you? 』

『 Not really. I mean, if you’re telling the truth, I guess there’s someone that springs to mind, but I think they would have spoken to me, first. If you’re  _not_ telling the truth, then… well, I guess that doesn’t matter. 』  She paused, looking up toward a skyscraper in the periphery.  『 No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make sense for someone on my side to help you find me—not unless they know I trust you. 』

Zagreus smiled weakly.  『 Well, that’s a point I find rather difficult to argue. Won’t stop me from trying, though, 』  he admitted, his smile gently spreading into something more confident.  『 Perhaps they trust  _me_ , for example—although not completely. 』

She looked skeptical.  『 And so they sent you to me in order to… evaluate your trustworthiness? 』

He laughed a little (aloud), but was frankly embarrassed that she had guessed his thoughts so easily.  『 Something like that. I suppose giving chase was a bad look, then—but I can promise you and whoever may be spectating that I mean you absolutely no harm. Quite the opposite, in fact: I’d like to help, if I can. 』

『 I’m… being helped, 』  said Cassandra, looking uncomfortable for reasons Zagreus couldn’t guess. Was her current “help” not good enough? But if they were who Zagreus assumed they were… that didn’t make much sense.

『 Right. A colleague of mine told me something about that, albeit not in much detail. 』  He stopped briefly to wonder whether admitting everything was the right call, and eventually decided that sharing as much of his truth as possible couldn’t hurt.  『 Is Batman keeping you safe, Cassandra? 』

The surprise in her eyes immediately told him he was right. Unfortunately, her hand shot up to the cable plugged into the back of her neck in the next instant… although something caused her to hesitate, thankfully stopped her from removing it.  『 Batman? Why Batman? 』

Zagreus tried to maintain his calm, doing his best to ignore that panicky little feeling in his chest which indicated she might flee at any moment.  『 It’s… a long story. Suffice it to say that Batman is a friend of a friend, in a manner of speaking—that friend being someone else who had an interest in your safety, which led Batman to him some way or other—not details I have, unfortunately. As I understand it, though, Batman has assured your safety. You’re certainly still here—safe—so I would like to believe that’s true. 』

She opened her mouth—but immediately closed it once she remembered herself, instead taking another moment to reluctantly consider what his words meant. To Zagreus’s relief, she released the data cable. 『They’re protecting me. They aren’t doing anything wrong, if that’s what you’re getting at; they’ve only been helpful. It may not have been _perfect_ , but… I’ve made friends, too.』 She looked vaguely embarrassed at that final addition.

『 Well, I suppose that can only be considered good news, 』  conceded Zagreus with a thin smile, beginning to wonder if his presence here was unnecessary. Well, his pride could take the hit, as long as he could be confident of her safety.  『 I… suppose that’s good enough for me, truth be told. I looked for you because I know how our family—how Zeus—can get; we are cousins, after all. 』

Zagreus halted his thoughts here for a moment, doing his best to momentarily curtail his rambling habit. He saw only patience on her face, however, so did his best to make use of it:  『 If your safety is truly assured—by Batman or whoever it is—then I don’t mind leaving you be. But it would be a mistake of me not to at least say this: if you ever need a new place where Zeus can’t reach you, you can always come stay with Than and me. Ironically, our Lord Uncle holds less power in Greece than he does here. 』

She blinked at this offer. Cassandra’s gaze had the kind of focus that suggested she was still trying her best to discern his motives, but there was a sense of longing—and relief?—which Zagreus could not help noticing. “Greece? What about GigaDisco?” she asked aloud.

He smiled, but did his best to maintain their discussion over data:  『 I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you don’t know: Thanatos and I have lived there for a while now, actually. Just got used to making the trips back down to San Angeles for the games. 』

She rubbed her chin, looking down at Zagreus’s feet as she considered something.  『 I  _have_ always wanted to go, someday—to Greece. 』

『 Right? Must be in our genes—or something else we can blame on our ridiculous parents. Well: now that I’ve found you, I’ll probably only be in town for another few days, but… consider it a standing offer. We’ll fly you out any time. Just… make sure you aren’t caught before then, and all that. 』

Cassie swallowed, hard.  『 A few days, right? Do you have some way I can get in touch with you? 』

His eyebrows rose in surprise. Was she really about to trust him?  『 Of course; I’ll send it. I can give you the address of my hotel, as well… 』  he started, retrieving all the information he could think she might be interested in.  『 Just get a hold of me any time you like; if you end up in a real hurry to get away—and decide I’m no danger—we can always leave ahead of schedule. 』

『 Yeah. Maybe… maybe that would be for the best. 』

『 Really? I mean—good! Great! I’m not sure how this will all work with your disguise, but… I’m sure we can figure something out. Actually, on a similar note: will you be informing your protectors of what’s happening? 』

She grimaced, for a very brief moment looking almost as though she wanted to cry, but shame kept her composure intact. “I’ll tell them,” she agreed, reaching up and tugging loose the narrow data cable, which automatically began spooling itself back toward Zagreus. “A couple of them.”

“Erm, I realize now I should have asked this first, but… will they  _agree_ to let you go?” he asked, certainly not wanting the pair of them to become Batman’s  _enemies_ .

She smiled a little wryly. “To be honest, I’m sure some of them can’t wait for me to be out of their hair. But they probably also know whether or not you’re working with Zeus.”

“Ah,” remarked Zagreus, for some reason feeling a bit of a chill in his back. He cleared his throat. “Well… good. I think.”

To his surprise, she offered her hand to him. “Thanks, Zagreus. I’ll contact you soon, one way or another.”

“No problem, cousin,” he answered with a smile, taking her hand and grasping it firmly and fleetingly.

“Wow. He got you totally figured out.”

Tim hid his annoyance through a smile equal parts grim and wry. “Well… too subtle and he wouldn’t have figured it out at all—he’d find it more suspicious than it was worth. How, exactly, did you talk me into letting you come with me, again?” he demanded, yanking the binoculars from Stephanie’s hands. He hadn’t really needed them, considering he’d still been able to pick up the conversation they’d held over data (thanks to a dissolving agent that he’d embedded in Zagreus’s message), but refusing to let Stephanie have her fun took priority.

“Old habits, I guess,” mused Spoiler, dropping out of view of the window and letting her back slide down beneath the concrete wall. How lucky were they that a brand new skyscraper happened to be under construction and overlooking the neighborhood  _right_ where the Cafe Streem was located?

“Still think we could have just used a drone, though,” she mentioned absently.

Red Robin didn’t look away from the binoculars, keeping them perched on the sill as he continued to watch their targets. “Yeah, that probably would have been fine, but… wanted to make sure we could respond immediately, just in case.”

“Right, but—what do you think? Doesn’t look like that’ll be necessary.”

“I agree. Considering this meeting and all his other activities, inquiries, etcetera—whether they be into Cassie or Batman—I think we can conclude Zagreus Sandsmark means well.” He turned to her with a smile. “Just have to convince Batman himself.”

“Kind of sounds like she’s already made up her mind, if you ask me—what can he do to stop her?” She paused only briefly before speaking up again. “I mean, practically speaking, I know there’s quite a lot he  _could_ do to stop her, but why would he?”

“Only he would know that, but… should be easy to talk him into it. As long as we have reason to think she’ll be safe, Batman will leave her alone—I pretty much guarantee it. Honestly, her fleeing to the Aegean would probably be the best outcome for everyone, since Batman probably doesn’t want to be responsible for her forever.” He felt a slight pang of guilt as he spoke, though, unsure that it would be the best outcome for  _everyone_ , exactly. He was still having trouble forgetting that strange, hollow feeling he’d gotten as a reward for defeating Cass that first time.

He gave Stephanie a thoughtful look; if Cassie really was leaving town, Cass Cain was probably going to need a new friend, but… no. Never mind, he thought, shaking his head. It wasn’t as though there was any reason it had to be  _Stephanie_ to keep Cass company. Hell, it probably _should_ be him. They lived together, after all.

But… he had his other obligations—not to mention Kon—so a visit from Steph probably wouldn’t hurt.

“Not to change the subject, but you should come get your head handed to you by Cain’s daughter sometime.”

The sideways glance she gave him briefly scared him into wondering if she’d figured out just why he brought it up. “That’s not the first I’ve heard about her. She’s that good, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m not exactly sure how good you’re imagining, but she’s probably even better.” He peeked through the binoculars again, watching with some mild satisfaction as the two started to finally part ways, with Cassie leaving first. Her cousin took another look around, but the level of his gaze never got close to focusing on Tim’s position. When he adjusted his angle, he saw that Cassie had never returned to the main street.

“I lost Cassie. Ready to go?” he asked, collapsing his equipment and returning it to his belt.

“To catch up with her, right?” guessed Stephanie, rising to her feet and slapping some dust from her cape.

“Yeah. Need to make sure that she knows Zagreus got that email from me. If any of us have misgivings about trusting him, we can discuss it.” As he gripped his grapnel gun, he added: “Wouldn’t hurt for you to introduce yourself, either.”

“Sounds fun,” Spoiler agreed, putting a foot up onto the concrete windowsill and launching herself forward, at the same time shooting out a hook and shouting back at him just as gravity started trying to reclaim her: “Race you there!”


End file.
